Message
Mark 9:42-50
“Cut Off Your Sinning Hand”.
What would it take for you to cut off one of your limbs?
Aron Ralston …
If you have seen the movie 127 hours it is a movie about him.
Aron Ralston was a rock climber climbing in a narrow canyon.
While he was in the canyon a large bolder feel and pinned his arm.
He couldn’t life it. He could chip it away.
He was stuck for 127 hours … more than 5 days.
He only became unstuck by cutting off his own arm.
That is a radical decision isn’t it.
Cutting off limbs!
These are radical decision to make when you are in a serious situation.
But the serious situation might not be a physical one. It can also be a spiritual one.
Let’s see what I mean by turning to Mark 9:42-50
What stands out in this section? “Cut off sinning limbs!”
In these words we are again faced with a Hard Saying of Jesus.
As we look at these verses I hope we immediately realize that Jesus doesn’t literally mean, “Physically take a knife and cut off, or take out, the offending body part.
We know this is true because it wouldn’t take long for all Christians to lose both their eyes, both their hands and both their feet. Because that is only 6-sins worth … isn’t it.
We also know that cutting off the offending part doesn’t actually stop the problem. There are plenty of Christians who are missing limbs … hands and feet … or who cannot see - but still sin.
So this is not literal. Mind you that didn’t stop Origen, a church father from the 2nd century from castrating himself because he was struggling with lustful thoughts.
So, if it is not literal, then what is going on?
Jesus is teaching us how serious sin is.
There is a word in Greek … a key word we need to focus on.
Different Bible versions have different translations.
cause to stumble
cause to sin
cause the downfall
offend
The Greek word is skandalizw. It is pronounced - skandalidzo
It sounds like the English word “scandal” or “scandalous” … doesn’t it?
When we put this all together we get an understanding of the focus of Jesus.
Jesus wants us to assess whether we have caused a sinful scandal.
The scandal reveals itself in two ways.
We may cause a scandal by hindering the faith of the little ones who believe.
Now don’t limit the description of “little ones” only to little children who are learning the faith.
Yes children are part of the picture - because we go back in the context to Mark 9:36-37 where Jesus uses little children specifically as an example. But notice that Jesus clearly calls them “little children” not “little ones”. So children growing in the faith are in mind, but so are others.
The little ones are also those who we look down on as not being as spiritually advanced as ourselves. In the context in Mark 9:38 John stops a unnamed man performing exorcisms because “he was not one of us”.
He is from the outside.
He is different.
He may not do it the same way as us.
He is a man, someone who is obviously effective enough in their faith to successfully drive out demons, but still considered to be a “little one”.
That is the context. And in that context Jesus says, don’t cause a scandal to their faith.
In Mark 9:33-34 the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest.
If some are the greatest, then that implies, that some are not so great.
What does that attitude - what scandal does that create - for the little ones?
A new church is planning to start in a new city, or a new suburb. “We are going to take this city for Jesus”, they declare. They don’t honour the hard long term work put in by other churches. They don’t connect with local churches to see how they can work together. Sometimes they don’t even live in the area - they are outsiders.
What does this do to the faith of the “little ones” - those who are different.
Is that a scandal?
There are some members of churches who are lifted up. When they don’t attend a service people talk about how they missed their contribution.
There are some members whose absence is not missed.
They are treated as insignificant.
They are on the fringe.
They are tolerated and not embraced.
What impact does this sort of attitude have on faith?
Is that a scandal?
Jesus doesn’t have a specific example in mind. He has all the examples in mind. All of those situations where the faith of another is tripped up, or leads to them causing offend, or brings about a downfall because of the fragile spiritual ego of those who think they are superior.
That is one type of scandal.
The second type of scandal comes when we are a hindrance to our own faith.
If your hand … is the culprit.
If your foot … or your eye … is the culprit.
I imagine the disciples looking at their hands or their feet at this point in the knowledge that, by now, these limbs should technically be gone.
It doesn’t take much for these parts of the body to be lead astray, does it.
Have my hands stolen or abused?
Have they touched in the wrong way?
Have they been lazy, or involved in the wrong activities?
Have my feet walked into the wrong places or gone down a forbidden path?
Have they walked me away from my purpose?
Are my feet covered in the dirt and filth of life?
Have my eyes seen that which should not be seen?
Looking into the darkness and trying to focus on the acts of the darkness.
Have my yes been the source of lust, or covetousness, or greed?
We are not just the source of the scandal to others. We also create the scandal in our lives every day.
Again Jesus doesn’t give any specific examples. But by doing so He covers all examples.
Hanging out with friends can be an excellent opportunity to be an encouragement and help them to know Jesus. It could also be a source of scandal.
Letting friends direct your hand.
Following friends who lead you astray.
Watching ungodliness because “all your friends are doing it”.
Being focused on a career is important, and we need to make an income to survive. But it can become a scandal when:-
Your identity because your work, not your faith - your hands are wrongly engaged.
When ambition, not submission, is your driving force - your feet are misdirected.
The kingdom is not in view - your eyes have lost focus.
The way we entertain ourselves can be a scandal.
Our hands are spending more time responding to Facebook posts then holding the Scripture.
Our feet walk into places that they should not be because, “We want a good time”.
Our eyes … in a visual age how much have our eyes seen that we wished they had not.
Ship-wrecking and tripping up the faith of the little ones.
Ship-wrecking and tripping up our own faith through acts of sabotage.
This is the “scandalon” … the stumble, the sin, the downfall, the offence.
It needs to be remedied.
Jesus says
Take a milestone - put it around your neck - jump into the see.
From the picture you can see by the size of the milestone that, if you took such action, there is no coming back.
Grab your hand … your foot .. your eye. Cut it off, or take it out.
When you lose the top of your finger it doesn’t grow back - even if it is a small bit.
Cutting off limbs is an action from which there is no coming back.
It is a radical remedy.
But by prescribing that remedy Jesus is clearly saying that the impact of sin - that which we enact on others, and that which is enacted within ourselves - cannot be underestimated.
Not only that.
Jesus says that this remedy is … “better” … better than the alternative.
The alternative is geennan
I’ve deliberately used the Greek word - it is pronounced “Gehennan”.
Also known as “Gehenna”.
The word derives its name from a literal place.
In Hebrew it is called Gehinnom which means “the valley of Hinnom”.
This valley is located on the south of Jerusalem.
In the time of rebellious King Ahaz child-sacrifices where made in this valley.
Because of this history over time the valley became the place where the carcasses of animals, and dead bodies of criminals were placed.
In order to prevent pestilence and disease constant fires were kept burning.
In Jewish history this place became a symbolism of what can happen in the afterlife.
Christianity continued that symbolism.
But “Gehenna” is not a symbolic place.
Gehenna is a real place and it comes with real consequences which are to be feared.
Gehenna is a place where people will want to forget about God.
The reason they want to forget is because, all too late, they realise that God was right all along.
In Gehenna there is no praise … no worship …and no honour given to God.
Instead there are pangs of conscience, anguish, despair, weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Gehenna is not a place of celebration but a place where people eternally say, “What if”.
“What if I had listened to my mother when she told me about Jesus?”
“What would have happened if I didn’t trust science more than Christianity?”
“What if I had confessed Jesus as Lord”
Gehenna is a place where people are imprisoned.
Gehenna is described as a prison.
A prison for those who have rejected God.
A prison from which we cannot escape.
And that would be bad enough, except it is also a prison where people are placed together with the devil and his angels. Revelation 20:10 says,
… the devil (who deceived the nations) was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.
In Gehenna … in this place of torment … you are an inmate with Satan and all of his followers. That would have to be the most gruesome togetherness imaginable.
Gehenna is a place where God’s grace is not shown.
Scripture describes Gehenna as a destination – a destination which takes you away from the Lord and away from His grace. God is everywhere, but He is silent to those who are in Gehenna.
Gehenna is not a correctional school or a reforming facility. Those in Gehenna don’t hear from God nor are there endless sermons. These people have been spending there life telling God to keep silent … and that is what happens. There is
… no compassion.
… no patience.
… no grace.
… no more second chances.
Just condemnation.
And the individuals who are there will be on their worst behaviour. No wonder Gehenna is aptly described as the land of darkness. An eternity of hopelessness and regret.
Here are the alternatives.
Take radical action against sin … use a millstone … chop off a limb.
Or.
End up in Gehenna.
We may be dealing with a hard saying of Jesus … but aren’t you glad that He says this.
Jesus is telling us exactly what we need to hear.
But the reality is … for many … we do not like talking about sin … and we don’t like talking about hell.
According to a survey of over 1700 people in 2009.
28% of Evangelical Christians don’t believe hell exists.
50% of Catholics, 65% of the Uniting Church and 70% of Anglicans don’t believe in hell.
The survey was not done in churches but randomly in the street, so I think the data is skewed. But there are many professing Christians who do not want to hear about hell and sin.
But that is the danger isn’t it. Think of it this way.
Let’s imagine I have a bottle of chlorine. All chlorine bottles are clearly marked “Poison”.
Now imagine people get to a point where they don’t like how negative the word “poison” is.
So we change the word “poison” to something more mild like “essence of vanilla”.
Does that make the chlorine any less dangerous?
Not at all.
In fact a bottle of chlorine that has the label “essence of vanilla” instead of “danger” is more dangerous … isn’t it.
Through this hard saying Jesus is getting us to see the danger of sin.
Remove the sin, or go to the place where …
“The worm does not die and the fire is not quenched”. That is a quote from Isaiah 66:24.
Among other truths this quote reminds us that the Old Testament and the New Testament have the same perspective on this issue.
The perspective … the perspective of Scripture - the perspective of Jesus … is, “It is better to take the radical action now so you don’t have to suffer the eternal devastating consequences later.”
How do we do that?
This is where verse 49-50 are so important.
49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
To see what is happening here we need to look at a few other verses from the Old Testament.
13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.
Leviticus 2:13
19 Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”
Numbers 18:19
The sacrifices where accompanied by salt.
The covenant between God’s people and the Father is sealed with salt.
Through the fire, the fire of sacrifice, purification is make.
Do you understand how devastating the consequences of sin are?
Do you need to employ a radical remedy?
Then you need to join in with the sacrifice … that which has been made by Jesus … and come under the covenant.
To take sin seriously.
To commit to live as those who are the salt on the sacrifice.
Reconciled.
Renewed
Transformed.
A radically willing to do whatever it takes to avoid being cast into Gehenna.
Prayer
